Sarah Zar
Sarah Zar (born Sarah Gonek) is an American visual artist, songwriter, performance artist, curator, and musical saw player. She has been active in publishing writing, showing art, and performing music in New York and beyond since 1998. She is the granddaughter of Rose Zar.
Music[edit]
Sarah Zar is a founding member of Row Raven Row and Torcher Chamber Ensemble, and she has collaborated as a musical saw player with singers Shayfer James and Yula Beeri. Additionally, she occasionally makes guest appearances with Crooks & Perverts and Dolchnakov Brigade.
Her collaborations include combinations of saw playing, songwriting, and singing with Shayfer James of Shayfer James, Yula Beeri of Yula & The Extended Family, Shlomi Lavie of Marcy Playground and Dolchnakov Brigade, Ryder Cooley of Fall Harbor, Torcher Chamber Ensemble, Crooks and Perverts, and many others.
Yula & The Extended Family (YXFM)
Yula & The Extended Family (YXFM) is a music and arts collective founded by Yula Beeri, based at The Hive NYC in Brooklyn. The group's members produce not only music but also theater, film, photography, painting, literature, horticulture, honey, and more.
Current members of The Extended Family include:
- Yula Beeri (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, accordion, and more)
- Isaac Gardner (drums, theater)
- Kevin Taylor (trombone, accordion)
- Sarah Zar (musical saw, painting, graphic design)
- Kate Campbell (trumpet, film)
- Rob Meyer (trombone, horticulture)
- Daniel J. Gerstle of HELO Magazine (bass, guitar, literature, photography)
Former members include Stefan Zeniuk, Taylor Galassi, and others.
The band has released two albums: Victor and Dark Side of the Bee, featuring singles like "Yulix," "Back Off America," and "Mouthful of Diamonds." In 2010, they performed at both the SXSW Festival and Punk Island NYC.
Shayfer James
Shayfer James is a self-titled singer/songwriter project known for captivating performances in New York, New Orleans, and Hong Kong.
When Shayfer James approaches the piano, there is a certain power and mischievous charm that surrounds him. A bewitching sense of foreboding builds as his fingers touch the piano, and as he begins to sing, we are immersed in his darkly lyrical and evocative stories. His wry poetry is stitched seamlessly to peculiar arrangements that are simultaneously unsettling and familiar. Mr. James lures us into a devious world where the gods tear wings from angels and every man has a siren waiting to devour him.
Current members of Shayfer James include:
- Dusty Bones (drums, percussion)
- Jeremy Gillespie (bass, vocals)
- Dante Portella (organ)
- Occasional appearances by Sarah Zar (musical saw, backing vocals) and Peter Horn (violin).
Torcher Chamber Ensemble
The Torcher Chamber Ensemble is composed of predominantly classically trained musicians who perform their own compositions and arrangements in a classical chamber ensemble style, including brass and strings.
Members of The Torcher Chamber Ensemble are:
- Kevin Taylor
- Russell Lynch
- Sarah Zar
- Kate Campbell
- Robert Meyer
- Michael Cuttitta
- Jack Noble
Art[edit]
Sarah Zar is an interdisciplinary artist currently based in Brooklyn, NY. Her work has been showcased in various venues including Sloan Fine Art, Denise Bibro Fine Art, Janet Kurnatowski Gallery, Sideshow Gallery, under bridges, on boats, and The Highline Ballroom. Her paintings have received numerous awards in NY, and her other visual works range from installations, drawings, collages, and sculptures to spatial design and letters to strangers. She also teaches Contemporary Art and Aesthetics at Montclair State University.
Sarah Zar's work is akin to that of a migratory bird, traditional yet nomadic in creating novels through painting, characterized by its colorful use of dream logic.
Writing[edit]
Sarah Zar's writing debuted in 1998 in the Hazmat Literary Review by Norm Davis and has since been published in various formats, including:
- Riddled With Spots by Sarah Zar and Charles Whymper, 1st ed., New York: A. Keck, NY.
- ONandOnScreen
- Featured Visitor at The Kelly Writers House, where she discussed "The language of technology in contemporary post-modern fiction for 'After David Foster Wallace'".
Awards[edit]
- Graduate Citation – Montclair State University
- First Place in the Fence Select Exhibition, Arts Center of Troy – Troy, NY
- The Roanne Kulakoff Award for Painting – Albany, NY
- Art Departmental Award for Drawing and Painting – S.U.N.Y. Albany
- Presidential Scholarship and University Honors Scholarship – S.U.N.Y. Albany
- Bradley Smith Art Purchase Award for Sculpture – Rochester, NY
- Grant for a 2-year Caste Drawing Apprenticeship with Lori Harpole – Rochester, NY